System and method for digital delivery of reveal videos for online gifting

ABSTRACT

An electronic gift (e-gift) giving system includes a first computing device that receives from a second computing device of a giver, e-gift information associated with an e-gift to be given to a recipient and reveal video information from the second computing device. From this information, the first computing device generates an interactive reveal video that, when displayed on a recipient computing device of the recipient, receives one or more user interface input actions and generates one or more tactile feedback actions to be performed by the second computing device in response to the user interface input action.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part to application Ser.No. 14/231,349, entitled “System And Method For Digital Delivery OfReveal Videos For Online Gifting”, filed on Mar. 31, 2014, which issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 9,104,237, on Aug. 11, 2015.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to online gifting, and moreparticularly, to a system and method for digital delivery of revealvideos for online gifting.

BACKGROUND

Electronic gifts (e-gifts) such as transaction cards, stored valuecards, electronic tickets, gift cards, and stored value cards havebecome a popular mode of online gifting. For example an e-gift mayinclude a stored value card having a specified cash equivalent valuethat may be redeemed by a conventional or online merchant. The storedvalue is determined by the merchant prior to packaging and display forsale or is selected at the point of sale by the purchaser. Nevertheless,these e-gifts, per se, lack any aesthetic qualities that may be usefulfor enhancing online gifting experiences. Additionally, the onlinegifting of e-gifts often do not adequately convey a sentiment that agiver would like to provide to his or her recipient. It is with thesefeatures in mind that embodiments of the present disclosure have beendeveloped.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic gift(e-gift) giving system includes a server that receives from a computingdevice of a giver, e-gift information associated with an e-gift to begiven to a recipient and reveal video information from the computingdevice. From this information, the server generates an interactivereveal video that, when displayed on a computing device of therecipient, receives one or more user interface input actions andgenerates one or more tactile feedback actions to be performed by thecomputing device in response to the user interface input action.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an e-gift giftingmethod includes the steps of receiving, by a server, e-gift informationassociated with an e-gift to be given to a recipient, and reveal videoinformation from a computing device. Using this information, the serveran interactive reveal video that receives one or more user interfaceinput actions and generates one or more tactile feedback actions to beperformed by the computing device in response to the user interfaceinput action.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a revealvideo display system includes a recipient computing device thatreceives, from a server, an interactive reveal video that, when playedon the recipient computing device, receives one or more user interfaceinput actions and generates one or more tactile feedback actions to beperformed by the recipient computing device in response to the userinterface input actions. The interactive reveal video is generated bythe server according to electronic gift information and reveal videoinformation provided by a user computing device managed by a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a computing system that includes an e-giftordering server according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 1B depicts an exemplary embodiment of a computing device accordingto one aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 1C depicts an exemplary embodiment of a data source according to anaspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a computing system that executes an e-giftordering application according to an aspect of the e-gift orderingsystem.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a process for creating a personalizedreveal video according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting a process for playing the reveal videoon a computing device of a recipient according to one aspect of thee-gift ordering system.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a settings page of a user interfaceaccording to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a sign in screen of a user interfaceaccording to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a registration screen of a userinterface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a recipient information entry screen ofa user interface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a recipient information entry screen ofa user interface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an e-gift selection screen of a userinterface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of an e-gift customization screen of auser interface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of an occasion selection screen of a userinterface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a reveal video selection screen of auser interface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a reveal video customization screen ofa user interface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a reveal video preview screen of auser interface according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIGS. 16-18 illustrate an example reveal video comprising athree-dimensional image of a present that is interactively opened by therecipient according to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIGS. 19-21 illustrate an example reveal video comprising an image of abirthday candle that may be interactively blown out by the recipientaccording to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIGS. 22-23 illustrate an example reveal video comprising an image of aballoon that may be interactively blown up by the recipient according toan aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIGS. 24-26 illustrate an example reveal video comprising an image ofconfetti or other celebration-based material that may be removed viahaptic input movements from the recipient in order to reveal an e-giftaccording to an aspect of the e-gift ordering system.

FIGS. 27-29 are screenshots from an example reveal video sequenceaccording to one embodiment.

FIGS. 30-31 are screenshots from a portion of another reveal videosequence according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although e-gifts have become a commonly accepted gifting medium, theiruse has not been without limitation. For example, conventional e-giftsare generally impersonal in that they typically do not include anypersonal sentiment that the user (i.e., sender) would like to convey tohis or her recipient. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide asolution to this problem using an e-gift ordering server that generatesa reveal video to be electronically sent along with an e-gift thatembellishes upon a gifting experience for a recipient.

FIGS. 1A through 1C depict an example e-gift ordering system 100according to aspects of the disclosure. The system 100 includes ane-gift ordering server 102 that includes an e-gift ordering application104 and a data source 106. As will be described in detail below, thee-gift ordering application 104 receives information from a computingdevice 108 of a user, and generates a reveal video 110 for transmissionto a recipient along with a selected e-gift 112. The reveal video/e-giftcombination is transmitted, for example, to a computing device 114 ofthe recipient via a messaging service, such as e-mail, a short messageservice (SMS), or a multimedia message service (MMS), or other suitabledigital communication medium.

The server 102 communicates with a merchant activation server 120 toactivate the e-gift, and a financial account server 122 that isassociated with a financial account of the user to provide payment forthe activated e-gift by the user. The financial account is any type,such as a credit card account, a debit card account, a mobile paymentsystem account (e.g., GOOGLE WALLET™ account), or a PAYPAL™ account ofthe user. Prior to activation of the e-gift, the server 102 facilitatesa financial transaction between the merchant activation server 120 andthe financial account server 122 associated with the user to providepayment for the e-gift.

The server 102 communicates with a social network server 124 to obtaininformation about the user and/or recipient for suggesting additionalcontent to be included with the reveal video/e-gift combination. Theserver 102 also communicates with a third party retailer server 126 toprovide generation, customization, and transmission of reveal videos 110for a third party retailer. Additionally, the server 102 communicateswith the social network server 124 to obtain information/data about theuser and/or recipient for suggestions regarding events or any specialoccasions (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, expected graduationdates, and the like) associated with the user and/or recipient. Forexample, the server 102 may obtain information associated with a friendof the user indicating that the friend has an upcoming anniversary, andpresent this information to the user along with any e-gift/reveal videodesigns related to anniversaries so that the user can optionally selecta particular gift card/reveal video design to send to the friend (e.g.,recipient).

The merchant activation server 120, the financial account server 122,the social network server 124, and the third party retailer server 126each have one or more processors and executable instructions stored involatile and/or non-volatile memory for performing the actions and/orsteps described herein.

The data source 106 stores information that is used by the sender toactivate an e-gift, and generate a customized reveal video 110 to besent to the recipient. In the particular embodiment shown, the datasource 106 stores one or more reveal video template files 130, and oneor more pre-recorded content files 134. In other embodiments, the datasource 106 stores any suitable type of information for personalizing thereveal video by the user. Although the data source 106 is shown as beinglocated on, at, or within the server 102, it is contemplated that thedata source 106 can be located remotely from the server 102 in otheraspects of the system 100, such as on, at, or within a database of adata management system or a database of another computing device orsystem having at least one processor and volatile and/or non-volatilememory.

Although not shown, the data source 106 may also store information to beused for generating other forms of content to be transmitted to therecipient. For example, the data source 106 may store information forgenerating an electronic gift card holder (e-gift card holder), and/or ateaser video to be transmitted along with the e-gift to the recipient.Examples of such a system is described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/940,436, entitled Gift Card Ordering System and Method, which wasfiled on Jul. 12, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated byreference in its entirety.

The communication network 120 can be the Internet, an intranet, oranother wired and/or wireless communication network. In one aspect, oneor more of the server 102 and the computing device 108 communicate withone another using any suitable protocol or messaging scheme. Forexample, the server 102 and computing device 108 communicates using aHypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), extensible markup language (XML),extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML), or a Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) protocol. Other examples of communication protocolsexist. Although the example of FIG. 1A shows the server 102communicating with the computing device 108 through a network, otherembodiments contemplate the server 102 communicating directly with thecomputing device 108 without the use of a separate and a distinctnetwork. Additionally, other embodiments contemplate that the modulesemployed by the server 102 and the computing device 108 are integratedin one computing system. Further, the servers 120, 122, and 124alternatively communicate with the merchant activation server 102 viathe network 120.

The user accesses the system 100 via the computing device 108 hosted bythe e-gift ordering server 102 using an HTML link or other suitableentry point, such as through application software (i.e., a mobile app)executed on a portable computing device, such as a wirelesscommunication device. The e-gift ordering application 104 then generatesa digital reveal video 110/e-gift 112 combination that is digitallytransmitted to the recipient using an e-mail message, a short messageservice (SMS), via a social media account, or other suitable digitalcommunication medium. The reveal video 110, when played by the computingdevice 114 of the recipient, receives one or more user interface inputactions and in response, generates one or more tactile feedback actionson the computing device 114 for simulating a gifting experience for therecipient.

The reveal video 110 may be incorporated in any suitable format thatprovides a multimedia viewing experience for the recipient. For example,the reveal video 110 may include audio and recorded video contentobtained from a camera and stored in a format such as a motion pictureexperts group 3 (MPEG-3) format, a MPEG-4 format, a H.265 format, or anOGG multimedia format. The reveal video 110 may also include animatedvideo content such as may be stored and displayed in a HTML5 format.Additionally, the reveal video 110 may include a combination of recordedvideo content and animated video content using a combination of formatsdiscussed herein above.

FIG. 1B depicts an example embodiment of a computing device 108, 114that may be used by a user (i.e., giver) and a recipient, respectively,according to one aspect of the e-gift ordering system 100. The computingdevice 108, 114 is a computing or processing device that includes one ormore processors 140 and memory 142. For example, the computing device108, 114 can be a personal computer, such as a laptop or notebookcomputer, a workstation, or other processing device such as a personaldigital assistant or a tablet computer. The computing device 108, 114includes a display 144, such as a computer monitor, for displaying dataand/or a graphical user interface 148. The computing device 108, 114also includes an input device 150, such as a keyboard or a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse, trackball, pen, or touch screen) to enter datainto or interact with the graphical user interface 148. In oneembodiment, the display 144 comprises a touch-screen device in whichinput is provided via contact by the user with the touch-screen device.The computing device 108, 114 receives data and/or communications from,and/or transmit data and/or communications to, the server 102 via thecommunication network 120.

The computing device 108, 114 includes a user application 152 stored inthe memory 142 and executed on the processors 140 to generate thegraphical user interface (GUI) 148 to the display 104. The graphicaluser interface 148 enables the computing device 108, 114 of the user tointeract with one or more data entry forms received from the server 102to enter order detail data and submit orders to the application 104. Inone embodiment, the user application 152 includes a web browser thatdisplays interactive web pages, applets, or other suitable userinterface mechanisms including one or more selectable fields, editingscreens, and the like for selecting content and/or modifyingpre-recorded content by the user (i.e., sender). In another embodiment,the GUI application 152 includes application software (i.e., a mobileapp) that is executed on the computing device 108, 114, which is, forexample, a wireless communication device for providing one or moreselectable fields, edit screens, and the like for selecting contentand/or modifying pre-recorded content by the user.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the user application152 also includes one or more application program interface (API)modules 154 for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 156configured in the computing device 108, 114. For the computing device114 of the recipient, the API modules 154 include any type that receivesuser interface input actions, and generates tactile feedback using oneor more peripheral devices 156. For the computing device 108 of theuser, the API modules 154 may receive user-supplied content from theuser for generating the reveal video 110. For example, the API modules154 of the computing device 114 of the recipient may communicate withsensors for sensing finger gestures performed by the recipient andcooperate with one or more other API modules 154 for generating tactilefeedback for the recipient using peripheral devices (e.g., speaker,vibration generators, or rumble feedback generators). As anotherexample, the API modules 154 may include a keyboard for receivingalpha-numeric text information from the user, a microphone for receivingaudio content from the user, and/or a camera for receiving photographicor video content from the user.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example e-gift ordering application 104 executedon the e-gift ordering server 102. The e-gift ordering server 102includes a processing system 202 that includes one or more processors orother processing devices. A processor is hardware. The processing system202 executes the e-gift ordering application 104 to facilitateactivation of an e-gift and for receiving customized information fromthe user for generating a reveal video that is combined with the e-giftto be sent to a recipient. The e-gift ordering server 102 also includesa display 203, such as a computer monitor, for displaying data and/or agraphical user interface 220.

According to one aspect, the e-gift ordering server 102 includes acomputer readable medium 204 that stores the e-gift ordering application104. The e-gift ordering application 104 includes instructions ormodules that are executable by the processing system 202 to generate areveal video to be sent to a recipient along with a selected e-gift.

The computer readable medium 204 includes volatile media, nonvolatilemedia, removable media, non-removable media, and/or another availablemedium that can be accessed by the e-gift ordering server 102. By way ofexample and not limitation, computer readable medium 204 comprisescomputer storage media and communication media. Computer storage mediaincludes non-transient storage memory, volatile media, nonvolatilemedia, removable media, and/or non-removable media implemented in amethod or technology for storage of information, such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.Communication media embodies computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data and include an informationdelivery media or system.

A user interface module 206 facilitates the receipt of data and/or othercommunications from the computing device 108 of the user. In oneexample, the user interface module 206 communicates with the computingdevice 108 using a web browser executed on the computing device 108 toprovide one or more selectable fields, editing screens, and the like forreceiving content and/or modifying pre-recorded content by the user(i.e., sender) to be included in the reveal video 110. In anotherexample, the user interface module 206 communicates with the computingdevice 108 using application software (i.e., a mobile app) executed on acomputing device 108, such as a wireless communication device or tabletcomputer, to provide one or more selectable fields, editing screens, andthe like for receiving content and/or modifying pre-recorded content bythe user (i.e., sender). In yet another example, the user interfacemodule 206 communicates with one or more peripheral devices 156 of thecomputing device 108 to receive user-supplied content to be included onthe reveal video and/or the gift card.

A reveal video customization module 208 receives information from thecomputing system 108 for customizing a reveal video 110. For example,the reveal video customization module 208 displays one or more revealvideo templates stored in the data storage and receives selection of oneof the displayed reveal video templates by the user. Next, the revealvideo customization module 208 receives other information from thecomputing device 108 of the user for customizing the reveal video, whichmay include, for example, selection of a particular color scheme to beassociated with the reveal video, entry of user-supplied content, and/orselection of one or more pre-recorded content to be included with thereveal video. For example, the reveal video customization module 208receives user selection of a holder type including a particular designassociated with a special occasion, which is, for example, a birthday,wedding, or a holiday, such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and thelike. The user-supplied content may include alpha-numeric text,photographs, audio content, recorded video content, and/or animatedvideo content as provided by the user. For example, the reveal videocustomization module 208 receives textual content from the user thatincludes a sentimental message to be included in the reveal video to beviewed by the recipient.

The user-supplied content or pre-recorded content may include textual,audio, photographs, and/or video segments to be included with the revealvideo. In a particular embodiment, the user-supplied content includespre-recorded content including a song or a portion of a pre-recordedsong that is copyrighted and licensed by the owner of the copyrightedsong. The reveal video customization module 208 modifies existingcontent, such as pre-recorded content or other previously receivedcontent, based upon input received from the computing system 108. Anexample of modifying existing content includes modifying a receivedphotograph using one or more photograph editing features that providesfor cropping, color hue adjustment, brightness adjustment, sizing,and/or other features associated with manipulation of digital imagery.

A financial account interface module 210 communicates with a paymentprocessing server, such as the financial account server 122, to transacta monetary transfer of funds from the user's financial account to afinancial account of a merchant of the e-gift. In one example, thefinancial account module 210 includes an application program interface(API) for coordinating a monetary transaction (e.g., online moneytransfer) through an e-commerce provider, such as PAYPAL™, online creditcard systems, or other suitable third party financial clearing entity.In another example, the financial account interface module 210 encodesmonetary transaction information provided by the user and transmits thisinformation to the merchant activation server 120 such that the merchantactivation server 120 may communicate with the financial account server122 of the user for transacting funds necessary for activating thee-gift.

The e-gift activation API module 212 communicates with the merchantactivation server 120 for activation of the e-gift. For example, themerchant activation server 120 is a server managed by a merchantassociated with the e-gift. For another example, the merchant activationserver 120 is a third party server of a third party e-gift activationservice for activation of the e-gift, such as SVS™, STORE FINANCIAL™,and the like.

A reveal video generation module 214 facilitates the generation of thereveal video to be sent to the recipient along with the selected e-gift.For example, the e-gift/reveal video combination is generated in digitalform and transmitted to the recipient via any suitable communicationmechanism, such as via an e-mail message, or a short message service(SMS) message.

A third party retailer API module 216 exposes certain features of eachof the user interface module 206, the reveal video customization module208, the financial account interface module 210, the e-gift activationAPI module 212, and/or the reveal video generation module 214 for use bythe third party server 126 so that reveal videos 110 may be generatedand transmitted to recipients using a website platform owned and managedby a third party retailer. For example, a third party, such as WAL MART™may provide a publicly available website that allows its users to placeorders for e-gifts 112, while also interfacing with the modules 206,208, 210, 212, and/or 214 to select, customize, generate, and transmite-gift/reveal video combinations directly from their website.

It should be appreciated that the modules described herein is providedonly as an example of a computing device that executes the e-giftordering application 104 according to the teachings of the presentinvention, and that other computing systems may have the same modules,different modules, additional modules, or fewer modules than thosedescribed herein. For example, one or more modules as described in FIG.2 is combined into a single module. As another example, certain modulesdescribed herein is encoded on, and executed on other computing systems,such as the computing device 108 used by the user, or the computingdevice 114 used by the recipient.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process that is performed by the e-giftordering application 104 to generate a reveal video that may betransmitted, along with a selected e-gift to a recipient according tothe teachings of the present disclosure.

At 302, the e-gift ordering application 104 receives a request from acomputing device 108 and generates a GUI on the computing system 108 ofthe user. In one embodiment, the GUI is generated as a web page that isrendered by a web browser executed on the computing device 108 through anetwork, such as the Internet. In another embodiment, the GUI isgenerated by application software (i.e., a mobile app) designed to beexecuted on a computing device 108 embodied as a wireless communicationdevice, a tablet computer, or other similar type of portable computingdevice.

The user accesses the system 100 via the computing device 108 via theuser interface of the computing device 108 hosted by the e-gift orderingserver 102. A user may arrive at the system interface via an HTML linkor other suitable entry point, such as through a mobile app executed ona portable computing device. The user typically initiates the onlinepersonalized gifting transaction by requesting a URL of the server 102through a browser or by launching the mobile app on a portable computingdevice, such as a wireless communication device or portable tabletcomputer from which the GUI is generated on the computing device 108.

In some embodiments incorporating a mobile app that is executed on aportable computing device, a first or main screen display is providedshowing elements such as text and graphics describing and explaining useof the system. The main screen may also display one or more bannersshowing seasonal offers provided to the user. In certain embodiments,the user can scroll through multiple banners using a finger swipe orother means, such as arrow keys, provided by the portable computingdevice for controlling and interacting with the mobile app executed onthe portable computing device. Typically, the main screen also includestext and graphics comprising a primary navigation element, such as a“Get Started” button, that is activated by a screen touch or otherselection means provided by the mobile device to advance the user to thenext screen.

At 304, the e-gift ordering application 104 receives informationassociated with the user. For example, the e-gift ordering application104 generates a splash screen (FIG. 4) on the computing device fromwhich a sign-in screen (FIG. 5) is accessed by the computing device. Inthe event that the user has not yet established an account, the e-giftordering application 104 generates a registration screen (FIG. 6) on thecomputing device for registration of the user. In other embodiments,information associated with the user without the splash screen, sign-inscreen, and registration screen as shown in FIGS. 4-6, respectively ifregistration of the user is not needed or desired. It is important tonote that the screens of FIGS. 5-24 of the present disclosure may referto screens generated by a mobile app on a computing device, such assmartphone as well as screens generated by a web browser on a computingdevice, such as a home computing system.

At 306, the e-gift ordering application 104 receives informationassociated with a recipient. For example, the e-gift orderingapplication 104 generates a recipient information screen (FIG. 7) toreceive one or more identifying elements of the recipient from the user.The e-gift ordering application 104 also generates a second recipientinformation screen (FIG. 8) to receive one or more other elements ofinformation of the recipient, such as a location where the recipientresides, an age of the recipient, and any interests of the recipient. Itis important to note that FIGS. 7 and 8 merely show one embodiment ofrecipient information that is received by the e-gift orderingapplication 104; other examples however, provides for receipt of anytype of recipient information. Alternatively, the e-gift orderingapplication 104 obtains personal information of the recipient using oneor more social network sites, such as FACEBOOK™. As will be described indetail below. The e-gift ordering application 104 uses this informationto provide targeted suggestions to the user for designing the revealvideo and/or selection of a e-gift.

At 308, the e-gift ordering application 104 receives e-gift informationfrom the computing device 108 and facilitates activation of the e-gift.For example, the e-gift ordering application 104 may present a merchantselection screen (FIG. 9) for entry of a particular merchant of thee-gift, which upon selection by the user, then displays a e-giftselection screen (FIG. 10) and a e-gift customization screen (FIG. 11),which in this particular example is configured to provide for selectionand customization of a gift card of the selected merchant. The e-giftselection screen also provides for selection of a monetary value to beassociated with the e-gift. Although the present example describes ane-gift in the form of a gift card, it should be understood that thee-gift may be any type that facilitates an item of value or facilitatesa financial transaction for the recipient, such as a transaction card, astored value card, an electronic ticket, or a stored value card, asubscription, a coupon, an e-book, a group coupon e.g., GROUPON™), andthe like.

At 310, the e-gift ordering application 104 receives reveal videoinformation from the computing device 108. For example, the e-giftordering application 104 presents an occasion screen (FIG. 12) for entryof a particular occasion by a user of the computing device 108. Asanother example, the e-gift ordering application 104 presents a revealvideo template selection screen (FIG. 13) for selection of a particularreveal template to be customized. For a particular example in which theselected occasion is Christmas, the e-gift ordering application 104presents multiple reveal video templates associated with the Christmasseason, such as a manger scene, a Christmas tree, three wise men, andthe like. The e-gift ordering application 104 receives a selectedoccasion from the computing device 108 of the user for furthercustomization.

At 312, the e-gift ordering application 104 customizes the reveal videoaccording to reveal information provided by the user. For example, theapplication 104 presents a reveal video customization screen (FIG. 14)to manage the entry of reveal video information by the user. Forexample, the interactive screen includes a “Record User-SuppliedContent” button that when selected, allows the user to enteruser-supplied content, such as textual, audio, photographic, and/orvideo content to be included in the reveal video. As another example,the interactive screen includes a “Select Prerecorded Content” buttonthat when selected, allows the user to select from among multipleinstances of prerecorded content stored in the data source. As yetanother example, the interactive screen includes a “Adjust parameters ofthe Video” button that when selected, allows the user to adjust one ormore parameters of the reveal video, such as a color scheme to beassociated with the reveal video, a play time of the reveal video,haptic feedback intensity parameters to be associated with the revealvideo, and the like. The e-gift ordering application 104 also displays areveal video preview screen (FIG. 15) that displays a preview of thecustomized reveal video so that the user may view the reveal video.

At 314, the e-gift ordering application 104 generates a reveal video inaccordance with information provided by the user of the computing deviceat 302 through 310. At 316, the e-gift ordering application 104transmits the reveal video/e-gift combination to the recipient. Thee-gift ordering application 104 transmits the reveal video/e-giftcombination to the user via any suitable digital format, such as via ane-mail message, via a short message service (SMS) message, or via asocial media account.

The process described above is performed repeatedly for additionalreveal video/e-gifts to be sent to one or more recipients. When use ofthe e-gift ordering application 104 is no longer needed or desired, theprocess ends.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process that is performed by the userapplication 152 of the computing device 114 of the recipient to play thecustomized reveal video according to the teachings of the presentdisclosure.

At 402, the user application 152 displays the reveal video on the GUI148 of the computing device 114. One example reveal video may display athree-dimensional image of a present (FIGS. 16-18) to be interactivelyopened by the recipient. Another example reveal video may display animage of a birthday candle (FIGS. 19-21) that may be interactively blownout by the recipient. Another example reveal video may display an imageof a balloon (FIGS. 22-23) to be blown up by the recipient. Yet anotherexample reveal video may display an image including confetti or othercelebration material (FIGS. 24-26) that may be removed to reveal thee-gift given to the recipient. In one embodiment, the reveal video mayinclude background imagery, such as an image of a table on which a giftbox is placed as shown in FIGS. 16-18. Additionally, the displayed imagemay include simulated movement, such as the birthday candle whose flamemay flicker to simulate movement due to the ambient forces of the windas shown in FIG. 19.

At 404, the user application 152 detects one or more input actionsperformed on the GUI 148. Examples of input actions may include, forexample, finger swiping actions performed on the GUI 148 of thecomputing device 114, audible sound inputted into a microphone of thecomputing device 114, shaking, tilting, popping, and/or tapping of thecomputing device 114.

At 406, the user application 152 generates tactile feedback actions inaccordance with the detected input actions. For the example reveal videoshown in FIGS. 16-18, tactile feedback actions include an image of aribbon that is pulled in response to an input action comprising a fingerswiping action from point 172 to point 174 on the GUI 148. Additionallyas shown in FIG. 18, a tactile feedback action may include an image ofwrapping paper being ripped from the e-gift in response to an inputaction comprising a finger swiping action from point 182 to point 184 onthe GUI 148.

Other tactile feedback actions may include sounds outputted by a speakeror other sound generating device of the computing device 114 that mimicsor simulates an actual sound generated by visual displays on the GUI148. For example, the user application 152 may generate a tearing soundas the wrapping paper is pulled from the e-gift as shown in FIG. 18.Additionally, the user application 152 may generate vibrations of thecomputing device 114 to simulate texture or other sensory aspect of thedisplayed image. For example, the user application 152 may generatevibrations as the wrapping paper is removed to simulate the tearingaction in the user's hand.

Tactile feedback actions may include an image of a burning candle whoseflame bends or an image of a balloon that is blown up in response to aninput action of blowing into the microphone of the computing device 114by the user as shown in FIGS. 20 and 23, respectively. As the usercontinues to blow into the microphone, the user application 114 respondsby displaying a burned out candle as shown in FIG. 21. The balloon mayalso display a user-supplied text message indicating some sentiment tobe conveyed to the recipient by the giver.

Tactile feedback actions may also include an image of confetti as shownin FIG. 25 that is removed from the GUI 148 as the user shakes thecomputing device 114.

At 408, the user application 152 displays an image of the e-gift for therecipient. For example, an image of the e-gift may be displayed as a boxthat is revealed when the wrapping paper is tore away as shown in FIG.18. As another example, an image of the e-gift may be displayed as astored value card (e.g., a gift card) that is revealed when the candleis blown out as shown in FIG. 21, or when the confetti is shaken fromthe GUI 148 as shown in FIG. 26.

The process described above may be performed repeatedly for the user onthe GUI 148. Nevertheless, when display of the reveal video is no longerneeded or desired, the process ends. It should be appreciated that thesteps described herein is provided only as an example of a process thatis performed by the user application 152 to display a reveal video onthe computing device 114 of the recipient and that the user application152 may perform fewer, more, or different types of steps than thosedescribed herein. For example, the user application 152 may performmultiple steps described above as a single step. As another example,certain steps described herein is performed by other components of thecomputing device 114 of the recipient.

According to an embodiment of the systems and methods disclosed herein,additional reveal videos and graphic displays can be used to reveal agift to a recipient. Similar to the previously described methods, at402, the user application 152 displays a reveal video on the GUI 148 ofthe computing device 114. One example reveal video may include one ormore animation sequences. These sequences may include images of awrapped gift box 500, a sealed envelope 502, and a greeting card 504, asshown in FIGS. 27-31. In various embodiments, the reveal video sequencesmay include background imagery 506, such as an image of a table on whicha gift box is placed or other decorative backgrounds.

At 404, the user application 152 detects one or more input actionsperformed on the GUI 148. Examples of input actions may include, forexample, finger swiping actions performed on the GUI 148 of thecomputing device 114 or shaking, tilting, popping, and/or tapping of thecomputing device 114. At 406, the user application 152 generates tactilefeedback actions in accordance with the detected input actions. For theexample reveal video sequence in FIGS. 27-29, the user opens orretrieves an email, social media message, or text message that isdelivered to the computing device and the gift box 500 is displayed. Theuser then performs a swiping action on the GUI 148 to open the gift box500. In response to the swiping action, the user application 152generates and displays an animated sequence that illustrates the giftbox 500 opening and confetti spilling out. The sealed envelope 502 isthen displayed as a result of opening the gift box. The user thenperforms a second interaction, such as a finger swipe to open theenvelope 502. Another animation sequence is displayed that depicts thegreeting card 504 emerging from the envelope 502. A gift, such as a giftcard 508 is then revealed from within the greeting card. In oneembodiment, a third user interaction is required to open the greetingcard 504. One having ordinary skill in the art can understand andappreciate that the entire animation reveal sequence may be displayed inresponse to any number of user interactions, as such a fewer number or agreater number of “opening” steps may be performed by the user.

Other tactile feedback actions may include sounds outputted by a speakeror other sound generating device of the computing device 114 that mimicsor simulates an actual sound generated by visual displays on the GUI148. For example, the user application 152 may generate a tearing soundas the sealed envelope 502 is unsealed, as the greeting card 504 isopened, or as the gift card 508 is removed from the greeting card.Additionally, the user application 152 may generate vibrations of thecomputing device 114 to simulate texture or other sensory aspect of thedisplayed image. For example, the user application 152 may generatevibrations as the wrapping paper or lid is removed from the gift box500.

At 408, the user application 152 displays an image of the e-gift for therecipient. For example, an image of the e-gift may be displayed as animage of a gift that is revealed when greeting card is opened. In oneexample, an image of the gift may be displayed as a stored value card(e.g., a gift card) that is revealed when the envelope and greeting cardheld therein are opened in response to the user interactions.

In another embodiment, the user performs yet another interaction toaccess the e-gift. For example, after performing a series of interactivegestures to access and open a greeting card, such as the greeting card504, the user may perform one or more additional interactive gestures,including but not limited to a finger swipe, blowing into a microphoneof the computing device 114, shaking the computing device, or tapping onthe GUI 148 to reveal an access code associated with the e-giftdepicted. The access code may then be used to access a retail ormerchant website or may be used directly to retrieve the gift.

In yet another example, a portion of the reveal video sequence, as shownin FIGS. 30-31, the user opens or retrieves an email, social mediamessage, or text message that is delivered to the computing device andthe envelope 502 is displayed. The user performs an interactive gesture,such as a finger swipe to open the envelope 502. An animation sequenceis displayed that depicts the greeting card 504 emerging from theenvelope 502. Once the greeting card is opened, as previously described,the GUI displays an image from a personalized video 510 that includesuser-supplied content related to the recipient. The user performs aninteractive gesture, which may include tapping the displayed image toretrieve and play the personalized video 510.

In various embodiments, an image of an e-gift, such as an image of astored value card, may be displayed simultaneously with the video or maybe displayed after the personalized video 510 has been displayed. Oncethe e-gift is displayed, the user may perform one or more additionalinteractive gestures, including but not limited to a finger swipe,blowing into a microphone of the computing device 114, shaking thecomputing device, or tapping on the GUI 148 to reveal an access codeassociated with the e-gift depicted. The access code may then be used toaccess a retail or merchant website or may be used directly to retrievethe gift.

The process described above may be performed repeatedly for the user onthe GUI 148. Nevertheless, when display of the reveal video is no longerneeded or desired, the process ends. It should be appreciated that thesteps described herein is provided only as an example of a process thatis performed by the user application 152 to display a reveal video onthe computing device 114 of the recipient and that the user application152 may perform fewer, more, or different types of steps than thosedescribed herein. For example, the user application 152 may performmultiple steps described above as a single step. As another example,certain steps described herein are performed by other components of thecomputing device 114 of the recipient.

It should be understood that the e-gifts described herein above merelyrepresent example e-gifts that is used with the present disclosure, andthat other types or styles of e-gifts is used. For example, the e-giftmay be printable on a conventional piece of paper that includes indiciaindicating information, such as a merchant and the monetary amountallocated to that e-gift that may be redeemed by the merchant.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations from thespecific embodiments disclosed above are contemplated by the invention.The invention should not be restricted to the above embodiments, butshould be measured by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic gift (e-gift) gifting systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising at least one processor;and at least one memory for storing an application executed on the atleast one processor to: receive, by the first computing device, e-giftinformation associated with an e-gift, to be given to a recipient from asecond computing device, wherein the e-gift is available for purchasefrom a merchant; generate, by the first computing device, a reveal videotemplate for display; receive, by the first computing device, revealvideo information from the second computing device, wherein the revealvideo information includes user-supplied content related to therecipient and wherein the user-supplied content includes alpha-numerictext, photographs, audio content, video content, pre-recorded videocontent, animated content, or combinations thereof; generate, by thefirst computing device, a personalized interactive reveal videocomprising the user-supplied content composited into one or moreeditable fields of the reveal video template, wherein the personalizedinteractive reveal video receives two or more user interface inputactions and generates two or more tactile feedback actions to beperformed at a recipient computing device in response to the userinterface input action during display of the personalized interactivereveal video; wherein the user interface input actions comprise a tap,touch, or swiping action across a display of the recipient computingdevice, and wherein the two tactile feedback actions comprises unsealinga displayed package in response to the tap, touch, or swiping action andthen displaying an image of the e-gift, a gift card, or a gift cardholder comprising the user-supplied content related to the recipient anddisplaying an access code or indicia to redeem the e-gift or the giftcard on the recipient computing device; and wherein the user-suppliedcontent related to the recipient, an image of the e-gift, the gift cardand the access code are displayed, in response to the user interfaceinput actions, at the recipient computing device.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the personalized interactive reveal video comprises an imageof a gift box, the user interface input action comprising a fingerswiping action on a user interface of the recipient computing device,and the tactile feedback action comprising an image showing movement ofa ribbon or tearing of wrapping paper.
 3. The system of claim 2, whereinthe tactile feedback action comprises an audio segment generated by asound generating device of the recipient computing device.
 4. The systemof claim 2, wherein the personalized interactive reveal video comprisesa three-dimensional image that includes background imagery.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the user interface input actions comprises atleast one of a shaking action of the recipient computing device, atilting action of the recipient computing device, a popping action ofthe recipient computing device, or a tapping action of the recipientcomputing device.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the tactile feedbackaction comprises a rumble feedback action of the recipient computingdevice.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the personalized interactivereveal video comprises at least one of recorded video content andanimated video content, wherein the recorded video content or theanimated video content is user-supplied content incorporated into thereveal video template.
 8. An electronic gift (e-gift) gifting methodcomprising: receiving, by at least one processor, e-gift informationassociated with an e-gift to be given to a recipient from a remotecomputing device, wherein the e-gift is available for purchase from amerchant; receiving, by the at least one processor, reveal videoinformation from the remote computing device, wherein the reveal videoinformation includes user-supplied content related to the recipient andwherein the user-supplied content includes alpha-numeric text,photographs, audio content, video content, pre-recorded video content,animated content, or combinations thereof; generating, by the at leastone processor, a personalized interactive reveal video comprising theuser-supplied content composited into one or more editable fields of thepersonalized interactive reveal video, wherein the personalizedinteractive reveal video that receives two or more user interface inputactions and generates one or more tactile feedback actions to beperformed at a recipient computing device in response to the userinterface input action during display of the personalized interactivereveal video; wherein the user interface input actions comprise aswiping action across a display of the second computing device, andwherein the two tactile feedback actions comprises at least one ofunsealing a displayed envelope in response to the swiping action oropening a displayed greeting card comprising the user-supplied contentrelated to the recipient on the recipient computing device; and whereinthe user-supplied content related to the recipient and the e-gift or animage of the e-gift are displayed, in response to the user interfaceinput actions, at the recipient computing device.
 9. The method of claim8, further comprising receiving, by the recipient computing device, theuser interface input action comprising a finger swiping action on a userinterface of the recipient computing device, the personalizedinteractive reveal video comprising an image of a gift box, and thetactile feedback action comprising an image showing movement of a ribbonor tearing of wrapping paper.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein thetactile feedback action generated for performance by the recipientcomputing device comprises a tearing sound.
 11. The method of claim 8,wherein the personalized interactive reveal video comprises an image ofa candle including a flickering flame responsive to the user interfaceinput action to simulate actual movement of the flame of the candle. 12.An electronic gift (e-gift) gifting system comprising: a first computingdevice comprising at least one processor and memory, and the at leastone processor to: receive from a first user device e-gift informationassociated with an e-gift to be given to a recipient, wherein the e-giftis available for purchase from a merchant; receive from the first userdevice reveal video information, wherein the reveal video informationincludes user-supplied content related to the recipient; generate andtransmit a personalized interactive reveal video comprising theuser-supplied content composited into one or more editable fields of thepersonalized interactive reveal video; wherein the personalizedinteractive reveal video generates one or more tactile feedback actionsin response to two or more user interface input actions during displayof the personalized interactive reveal video; wherein the user interfaceinput actions comprise a swiping action across a display of the secondcomputing device, and wherein the two tactile feedback actions comprisesat least one of unsealing a displayed envelope in response to theswiping action or opening a displayed greeting card comprising theuser-supplied content related to the recipient on the recipientcomputing device; and transmit the user-supplied content related to therecipient for display at the device displaying the personalizedinteractive reveal video.
 13. An electronic gift (e-gift) gifting systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising at least one processor;and at least one memory for storing an application executed on the atleast one processor to: receive, by the first computing device, e-giftinformation associated with an e-gift, to be given to a recipient from asecond computing device, wherein the e-gift is available for purchasefrom a merchant; generate, by the first computing device, a reveal videotemplate for display; receive, by the first computing device, revealvideo information from the second computing device, wherein the revealvideo information includes user-supplied content related to therecipient and wherein the user-supplied content includes alpha-numerictext, photographs, audio content, video content, pre-recorded videocontent, animated content, or combinations thereof; generate, by thefirst computing device, a personalized interactive reveal videocomprising the user-supplied content composited into one or moreeditable fields of the reveal video template, wherein the personalizedinteractive reveal video receives two or more user interface inputactions and generates two or more tactile feedback actions to beperformed at a recipient computing device in response to the userinterface input action during display of the personalized interactivereveal video; and wherein the user interface input actions comprise atap, touch, or swiping action across a display of the recipientcomputing device, and wherein the first tactile feedback actioncomprises unsealing a displayed package in response to the tap, touch,or swiping action, and the second tactile feedback action comprisesdisplaying an access code or indicia for redeeming the e-gift on therecipient computing device.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thepersonalized interactive reveal video comprises an image of a gift box,the user interface input action comprising a finger swiping action on auser interface of the recipient computing device, and the tactilefeedback action comprising an image showing movement of a ribbon ortearing of wrapping paper.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein thetactile feedback action comprises an audio segment generated by a soundgenerating device of the recipient computing device.
 16. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the personalized interactive reveal video comprises athree-dimensional image that includes background imagery.
 17. The systemof claim 13, wherein the user interface input actions comprises at leastone of a shaking action of the recipient computing device, a tiltingaction of the recipient computing device, a popping action of therecipient computing device, or a tapping action of the recipientcomputing device.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein the tactilefeedback action comprises a rumble feedback action of the recipientcomputing device.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the personalizedinteractive reveal video comprises at least one of recorded videocontent and animated video content, wherein the recorded video contentor the animated video content is user-supplied content incorporated intothe reveal video template.